


Homecoming

by Thepracticalheartmom



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:56:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thepracticalheartmom/pseuds/Thepracticalheartmom
Summary: Steve and Bucky always promise to come home to their wife. What happens when they don't come home in one piece?
Relationships: Avengers Team/Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 102





	1. Missing in Action

**Author's Note:**

> Had the weirdest dream about this and had to turn it into a fic, so enjoy a little glimpse into my brain! I plan for this to be a few chapters, but if it takes on a life of its own I won't be mad!

I found myself pacing around our apartment in the compound. They should have been back by now. That mission shouldn’t have taken so long. Where are my boys? Why weren’t they in contact? “FRIDAY?” I called up to the AI quietly.

“Yes, Ms. L/N,”

“Can you give me a status update on Bucky and Steve?”

“I don’t have anything new at this time.”

I continued to pace, hoping that they are ok. It wasn’t normal to not have heard from anyone, not even Fury, I was getting scared. I had to force myself to calm down and sit. I found a pair of Bucky’s shorts and one of Steve’s t-shirts and crawled up into our big bed. Specially made for the three of us, it felt just too big without them. It always did when they were on a mission, but even though it was too big, tonight, it smelled just enough like them to help me fall asleep. It was around 2am when my phone began to ring. Natasha’s ringtone. Natasha’s emergency number. Shooting up out of bed, decades of training winning out over sleepiness, I answered it. “Nat? What’s going on?”

“Open your apartment door Y/N, I’m outside it.”

“Okay” I whispered into the phone hesitantly as I opened my door.

Natasha walked in, still in her uniform from the mission. Her suit was blood stained and ripped in a few places, obviously they had seen some pretty heavy combat. Nat, my best friend, looked at me and gestured for a chair. “Y/N, you’re going to want to sit down for this one.”

This wasn’t good, my brain started going in a million directions. “Nat, where are my boys? What happened?”

“Y/N, Steve and Bucky are missing. HYDRA has them. The rest of the team is trying to find them. I need you to come with me. We’re going to head up to Tony’s lab and wait for updates.”

Hot tears began to spill over my cheeks. I tried to reason with myself, that captured was better than dead. That I was going to get my husbands back. Nothing could stop me from getting them back. Retirement was over. Tears wouldn't help get Steve and Bucky back. I dried my tears, and went to the closet to grab the garment bag in the back that held my suit. The boys wouldn't like this. But it was my only choice. I couldn't leave this one to the team. It was personal.

Bucky and Steve had asked me to retire because they thought I was too big of a target being with both of them. They were probably right, but I wasn’t about to let them do this alone. I slipped into the bathroom and came out with a stealth suit on, similar in style to Natasha’s but with a grey star in the middle, the matching set to Bucky and Steve’s. Nat's eyes widened a hair when she saw me, but thankfully she didn't say anything. She just nodded and headed for the door.

We headed for the lab, and I took a deep breath before we entered. Bruce and Tony were huddled over a holographic map, deep in discussion. “Tony, Bruce, fill me in.”

They began to tell me in detail what had happened. They lost the element of surprise and everything went to shit. A HYDRA goon had managed to get a hold of Bucky, and said they would let Bucky go if Steve went with them. Steve, being my sweet self-sacrificing idiot, walked towards them. Before the team could even react, the goon managed to drug them with something. The team had to keep fighting and the goon dragged them away before anyone could do anything about it.

**A HYDRA Base** ****

Hours away from where they’d been taken, Steve and Bucky were just beginning to wake up. It was cold in the room, even for them, normally the serum made them run hot. It reminded Steve of the ice, and how cold it had been when he took that fateful dive into the ice. He and Bucky were chained to separate walls, they strained against the chains, but whatever they were made out of was enough to keep them from breaking free. "Buck, are you ok?" Steve asked quietly, his wife's face seared into his mind as he remembered their promise, the same promise they made anytime they left for a mission. That they would take care of each other and that they would both come home. He wasn't about to break that promise.

"I'll be better when we get out of here. Y/N's gonna kill us." Bucky snapped.

Bucky's stomach was churning, and his stomach felt awful, but he couldn't focus on that as he tried to figure out how to escape the room. He began to feel dizzy, like he could barely move.

Steve watched on, trying to find a weakness in his own bonds. But his head was pounding and he couldn't stop shivering. His stomach was in pain, but he couldn't place it, he wasn't injured there, at least he didn't think he was.

Soon, a man in black tactical gear came in the room. He sneered at Bucky “So this, this is the great Winter Soldier. Soldat, your throne awaits. HYDRA needs its fist back.”

Steve tried to lurch forward, anything to keep them from taking Bucky. "No," he yelled, "take me instead."

The man kicked Steve back into the wall. "Shut up." 

The man unhooked the cuffs from the wall, jabbing a needle deep into the side of Bucky’s neck until his head drooped forward. The man dragged Bucky into a room, and shoved him into a chair, forcing a mouth guard into his mouth. Bucky began to come to as they electrocuted him. Steve could hear his screams from the room where he was being held, and he tried to stay strong, but tears threatened to fall as he heard his best friend, one of the loves of his life, fighting to stay with him.

After what seemed like hours of screams, Bucky was brought back into the room with Steve, and was injected with something else, this time a green substance, Bucky continued to fight, and was beaten with metal cattle prods until his body was littered with bloody cuts and burns. Steve fought the chains around him, trying to get free, to save Bucky. He couldn’t do it and slumped back against the wall as he felt another needle drive deep down into his neck. “You’re next Mister Rogers” he heard the man say. “We can’t let Sergeant Barnes have all the fun now can we?”

Steve fought the sedative as he was drug from the cell. Bucky was screaming as Steve was removed from his sight. He was brought to a large room, he assumed it was the same room Bucky had just been in. There was blood on the floor, and a man in a white lab coat who was standing with another syringe. Steve blacked out as he was forced into the chair. Only to wake up in the cell again, feeling like he couldn't breath, and like he might vomit. 

The next three days were the same, time in the chair, the green substance injected into them, sedatives. Pain, worrying if the other would survive. If they would make it back to their wife.

**The Compound** ****

I continued to pace the floor. Tony had found something. Nearly 36 hours after HYDRA had taken Bucky and Steve. I just hoped it wasn’t too late. The team had all gathered together in a conference room just off the lab, and were talking softly amongst themselves while Tony and Bruce brought up all of the information they would need.

“Alright everyone,” Tony brought the room to order, acting as leader since Steve wasn’t there. A fact that did not go unnoticed. “We found them. This is an extraction. We get in, we get Capsicle and Manchurian Candidate and we get out. Nat and Legolas will enter from the north, Point Break and Sam will take the South, Rhodey and I will take the West, Wanda, Vision, you’ll take the East. Y/N, you’ll be on the quinjet with Hulk as backup. You’re the best medic we have, I need you to be prepared to deal with whatever we hand you. Steve and Bucky would kill us if something happened to you.”

I raise a hand to protest, I want to go in and get my men, but the look on the faces of the team tell me that I will get absolutely nowhere with my argument. So I nod curtly, and head towards the quinjet. It’s time to bring them home.

The ride on the quinjet was uneventful, filled with tension, because we all knew the risks. There was a chance that they’d managed to turn Steve and Bucky against us, and we had to be prepared for that. Everyone had 2 syringes of sedative strong enough to knock Steve or Bucky out for about 2 hours each. I reminded everyone that they shouldn’t use them unless they had to.

Soon enough, we found ourselves landing near the base, our comms were on and all I could do was wait and hope that they found them alive.


	2. Hope

**A HYDRA Base**

The quinjet’s hatch opened into a pitch black night, the only lights were the light surrounding the compound. Hydra thugs could be seen all around, it was like they were waiting for them. Motioning for everyone to stay silent, Tony led the team out of the jet.Everyone fanned out and stormed the outside doors all at once.

Tony and Thor made their way down to the bottom floor of the complex, their intel was right. They opened a door and found Steve and Bucky bloodied and broken, unconscious on the floor. They were both significantly paler than usual, and through all the gunshots, and screams that were coming around them, Tony and Thor quickly and carefully began to make their way back to the quinjet.“We’ve got them, Y/N, heading back to you. Everyone else, finish up and get back. We need to get back in the air ASAP.”

Thor and Tony made their way towards the building’s exit when they heard shouting and boot falls as they turned the corner. Tony blasted the guards, and they made it out to the jet, rushing through the field, as the team came out of the building.

The battle didn’t last long, Tony made it inside first, settling Bucky on one side of the jet, and Thor settling Steve in on the other. I blinked back tears as I began assessing them. Trying to trick my mind into treating them like any other injured agent and not the loves of my life. I looked over Bucky first, he seemed to have taken more of the abuse. He was bloody, and breathing shallowly. I laid a hand on his forehead, but he didn’t feel right, I grabbed a stick on forehead thermometer and placed it on his head. I checked for any serious wounds, and found several gashes that would require stitches, but it didn’t make sense. His serum should have been healing these things. Why wasn’t it working? I placed three fingers against his neck, counting his pulse and assuring myself that he was alive.

I moved to Steve, and began checking him over as the rest of the team made their way into the jet. Steve was in much the same shape as Bucky, he looked near death, his serum didn’t seem to be keeping up with everything that it should. Now with the team safely in the air, I began to address the injuries I could treat. I gathered supplies and began to clean and suture the gashes big enough to require it. At some point, Thor moved Bucky and Steve down onto cots on the floor, pushing them near each other and near me.

“Lady Y/N,” Thor said solemnly “I think you have done everything we can do for now. Why don’t you sit down.”

Nat piped up from the co-pilot’s seat “Thor’s right, Y/N, you need to rest, they will need you once we land.”

I finally sat in the middle of the cots with a sigh, watching their chests rise up and down erratically, I just hoped they would make it back to the Compound. As the compound came back into sight, everyone began to talk. Finally, quieting everyone, a voice could be heard on the radio guiding the jet inside. “We’re going to need medical for two people to meet us.” Clint looked back at you, and nodded, I was met at the hangar by the medical team with two hospital beds. I followed them inside, and had to make my first decision. Whose elevator did you go up with?

Bucky, I thought to myself. I’ll go up with Bucky, if he wakes up alone he’ll need me most. For as long as I’d known Steve and Bucky, I knew that Steve and I were the only ones who could keep Bucky calm.I watched Steve get swept away into the elevator and followed into the second elevator holding one of Bucky’s hands in mine, squeezing lightly, hoping he’d open his eyes so I could kiss him. And then throttle him for being so stupid.

We make it up to the med bay, and immediately, I’m pushed out of the room. I shake my head and push my way back in. “I’m not leaving, so either put me to work or tell me where to stand.”

“Agent L/N, I need you to stand over there in the corner while we make sure they are stabilized.”

What seemed like hours later, I found myself sitting in-between the two hospital beds with one hand covering each of the others and found my head drooping over onto my shoulder. Everyone had come by, Nat and Wanda tried to convince me to go back the apartment and wait, but I couldn’t bring myself not to be here. I ran my fingers through Steve’s hair gently, and eventually found myself doing the same to Bucky. The doctors didn’t know what was wrong with them, or why they weren’t healing like they should. Overnight, both men had developed fevers, and though I wouldn’t admit it, I was scared. I’d never seen either Bucky or Steve get sick, they didn’t usually catch any of the things normal people caught. Dr. Cho came by to check on them, but didn’t say much.

The next day, Steve started to convulse, I pressed the call button and let go of Bucky long enough to roll Steve onto his left side, noting the time and trying not to panic. Steve’s lips were blue. “Come on Steve, baby, I’m right here, you’re gonna be ok. Please come back to me Steve. I need you, Bucky needs you. We love you.”

As the medical team ran into the room, I pressed myself back into Bucky’s area, shifting the bed out of the way, taking his IV pump with him. I watched as they gave Steve some medication through his IV, shortly after, his body stilled. Bucky’s hands were colder than usual, feeling a little icy. Steve slowly stopped seizing and the weight of everything pressed in for a moment.

The next few days were filled with what-ifs and worry. Nothing seemed to be changing, although neither Steve nor Bucky were seizing anymore, they still weren’t waking up. I spent most of my day sitting between the two of them, talking to them, telling them they weren’t alone. “I’m here, come back to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments and kudos mean the world to me! Thank you for reading!


	3. Recovery

Day six was the turning point, the fever stalled out and finally broke, and slumped over the chair, almost asleep, I felt a hand tighten around my own. My head shot up, and I looked over to my side, Bucky’s eyes were open, and he was staring at me, looking confused. Releasing Steve’s hand only for a moment, I hit the call button for a nurse, and whispered “Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling?”

Bucky groaned, his voice almost non-existent. When the nurse came in, his eyes filled with fear. I put your hand on his shoulder. “Honey, I’m right here. I’m right here. No one is going to hurt you.” Bucky’s eyes were glassy, but he held on to my other hand like his life depended on it. The nurse put a sedative in Bucky’s IV, his eyes slipped shut rather quickly, I knew it wouldn’t last, but it would help him relax a little. He only slept for a couple of hours, but I hoped that it would help. “What the hell did they do to you Buck?”

Later, when his eyes opened again, he seemed tense, but more aware. Steve still hadn’t woken up, but for now, I decided that Bucky needed more of my attention. I gently threaded my hands through his hair, something he’s always enjoyed, and he pressed his head up against my arm. “Y/N” he whispers.

“I’m right here, hon, do you need anything.”

He smiles softly. “Steve?”

“He’s right next to us” I move out of the way, giving him a clear view of Steve laying in the bed just a few feet away from him.

Bucky tensed at Steve’s still sleeping form, but made no attempts to get up. “Hey, rest love, he’ll wake up soon. I’m sure of it.”

He leaned back, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair. I leaned forward, moving his hand and kissing his forehead. “Talk to me?”

He shook his head softly, “There’s nothing that happened in that place that you want to know about, Y/N. Better for that to be locked up in our heads.”

I shook my head, he really should know by now that we aren’t capable of keeping secrets from each other. Especially when it came to the things we saw on missions. One of us would read it in a file, hear it during the debrief, a teammate would say something and it would all come out, but for now, I wasn’t willing to push it. He just needed me to be his wife right now. “I’ll always be right here. Til the end of the line, love”

It was around midnight the next morning when Steve began to wake up. I was half asleep curled up in the bed with Bucky when I heard him groan. My eyes opened sleepily and I sat up, unentangling myself with Bucky. Steve’s eyes were half open and he was groping around trying to get his bearings. I got out of the bed, thankfully without waking Bucky, and placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder softly. His hand shot up and gripped my wrist painfully. “Steve, Steve, love, it’s just me. You’re safe. You’re home.”

Steve’s eyes shot open, he took in the room, the white walls, dimmed and lit almost a blue hue in the darkness, with only the bright medical monitors. He looked down at his hand, an IV placed to give him medication, and pulled his hand up to his face, an oxygen cannula in his nose. Then, finally, his eyes turned back to me, tears filling them as he released his grip on my wrist, which thankfully, didn’t feel broken. It would surely bruise, but that was easily hidden. He’d always been one to feel horrible anytime he caused any kind of pain, and I didn’t want him thinking about that while he was recovering. “Y/N,” he whispered, his eyes still a little glassy, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Is this real?”

“Our first date was to the little cafe down the street. You wore a baseball cap and your jacket, I wore a red sundress. Our wedding colors were purple and yellow, everyone wanted them to be red and blue, but I put my foot down and pitched a fit more suitable for a toddler than an agent. I even punched Tony.”

Steve’s shoulder’s relaxed. Our code for being who we said we were calming his fears. He opened his arms to me, and I leaned over gently, hoping not to hurt him, and hugged him for the first time in a little over a week. I’d missed my husbands.


	4. Finally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the mix up! I added a chapter for my other story “In the Midst of Fireworks” on accident! Here is a shorter chapter to make up for it. More content to come soon for the work!

Soon, we both fell asleep, I was tucked up against Bucky’s side in the too small hospital bed, but he’d insisted. “I’ve been without you long enough, I just want to hold my best girl.”

I woke up to the soft beeping of a monitor, and rolled over gently to check on Steve, he still wasn’t awake, but he looked better, it seemed that maybe he was making a turn for the better. Carefully getting out of the bed, which wasn’t the easiest feat considering Bucky was clinging to my waist like a man in a desert would cling to a jug of ice water, I settled myself in my chair. Natasha knocked on the door gently, lifting a to-go container of food. “Thought you might need this.” She whispered. I opened the carton to find my favorite Chinese food. “A little birdie told me you haven’t been taking care of yourself.”

“I just don’t want to leave them. They need me right now.”

“They do, but they need you at your best. Your apartment is only a few floors up. I’ll stay here while you go get a shower and eat that. You need to take care of yourself, or you’ll end up in a hospital bed too. Then you’re no help to anyone.”

Conceding, I found myself in the elevator, requesting that FRIDAY let me know if either of them woke up or needed me. I took the fastest shower I could, and scarfed down the food quickly, not wanting to waste a moment. I opted for the stairs on my way down, sprinting as quickly as I could. As I re-entered the room, I saw Steve’s eyelids flutter and open. Natasha quickly moved aside and tapped the button that would call the nurses. I grasped Steve’s hand gently, “Hey honey, you can open your eyes now. You’re home.”

Steve’s eyes opened, a little glassy, and I could tell he wasn’t quite believing what he was seeing. His grip was weaker that I’d ever known it to be, which scared me a little, but at least, in this moment he was awake.

I heard a rustle beside me, and felt a cold metal hand touch my waist. I glanced behind me at Bucky, whose eyes were bright and even though his hair was messy, was smiling. I made a mental note to grab a brush to tame Buck’s hair later, he always hated when it got tangled. Steve opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out. “It’s ok hon, you’re alright.” His eyes looked startled. “I’m sure it’s just how long yo’ve been out.”

Dr. Cho walked into the room, and asked Steve how he was feeling. Her eyes widened a little when she realized he couldn’t speak. “That’s an interesting side effect, perhaps some water will help, if not, we’ll get someone in here to run some more tests.”

I reached for the water pitcher on the tray table, and poured a glass with a straw and held it up so that Steve could drink. He drank a few sips and tried to speak again, his voice was hoarse, and barely more than a whisper, but it was there. “I love you, Y/N” he whispered.

I kissed his cheek. “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for all your kudos, comments, bookmarks and for reading this fic, your support makes writing all of this so worthwhile!


	5. Home But Not The Same

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter to hold you over, we'll be wrapping this one up in a few chapters! I really love reading your comments, seeing your kudos and bookmarks, it makes my day!

The days wore into weeks, and while the boys were improving, slowly, they still weren’t healing the way that they should. Tony was running more and more bloodwork, but no one could seem to figure out why they weren’t healing like they should.

I’d finally convinced everyone to let us move them up to the bedroom. They didn’t really need the medbay anymore, and I just wanted my husbands home. So our giant bed was flanked with medical equipment, pulse oximeters, IV pumps, piles of medications in a brand new mini fridge near the dresser, but I couldn’t be happier, at least they were home.

Thor brought Steve up first, helping me to settle him into bed. I fussed around the medical equipment for a moment and then waited for Bucky to come through the door. I knew he wouldn’t let anyone help him, and so he stood before anyone could try. He stumbled a little, looking like a baby horse trying to get his footing. He sat on the edge of the bed, and let himself fall backwards. “Buck, just let her help.” Steve chided.

Bucky finally let me shift him into the bed and fuss over him with a huff. He caught my hands as I went to tug the blanket up with a soft smile. “Doll, come lay down with me. It’s been way too long since we’ve all been in this bed together. I’ve missed you.

I nodded, unable to deny them anything, and gently tucked myself into the middle of the bed, careful not to jostle anything. “I love you” I murmured softly.

It was late when I woke up, both Steve and Bucky were awake, talking softly over me, trying not to wake me.

“Do you think they finally found the antidote to the serum?”

“Surely not, there’s no way”

“Maybe we should talk to Tony about it”

I opened my eyes and they stopped the conversation, both of them reaching out an arm at the same time to touch me. It’s been far too long away from our home. It was too quiet, even with the pulse ox in the room, it was too quiet. I’m surprised I slept at all. I’ve been running on an hour or two here and there for so long that I really didn’t expect that to change, but somehow, I feel like I could sleep for a week straight, but I can’t. I need to make sure both my boys get their medication, I slip out of bed, and draw up the syringes. I push Steve’s meds first, and then move to do the same to Bucky’s.


	6. At Last

It was a few weeks later that I heard a knock at our door. An interruption to our routine, but nothing unwelcome. I opened the door to a very excited Bruce. “Hey Bruce, what’s up?” I asked confused.

“I found it. I figured out how to get the serum to start working again. The compound that they were injecting into Steve and Bucky, it’s not an antidote, its more like a coating. It coats the cells and keeps the serum from working. All we need to do is run their blood through a machine and clean it. We can start whenever they are ready.”

I was excited, I just wanted them well. I walked into the bedroom to tell them. Gently waking up Steve, Bucky was already trying to get up out of bed. He’d heard Bruce from the other room. Bucky stood, feeling every bit the centenarian he is, and slipped on some sweatpants. Steve moved a little slower, but once he was up to speed he was doing his best to keep up. 

We made our way into the medbay, where a few complicated looking machines were set up near two gurneys. It felt too familiar, but I tried to trust Bruce. Steve and Bucky each laid on a bed, and the medical techs and nurses went about hooking them up to the machines. Several IVs were placed and then the medical team stepped away and I was able to sit between them in a small chair. Bruce explained the procedure and then turned on the machines. There was a chemical smell in the air that I wasn’t quite ready for, but like everything else we’d been through during the past several weeks, I held their hands and made it work.

What felt like hours later, the nurses were unhooking Steve and Bucky, and the difference was palpable. Steve wasn’t moving as slowly, Bucky didn’t look so tired. I had them back. I really had them back.

As the week wore on, Steve and Bucky went back to normal. We had dinner together, we cuddled, and we were thankful that we had each other. One day, the phone rang, Steve answered and promptly hung up, looking to Bucky, he nodded and turned to me. I knew that look. “Come home to me.”

“We will doll, promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally over. It felt longer than I had originally intended it to, but maybe this will become a part of a series.. we'll see! Thank you for sticking with me!


End file.
